


Broken

by trickytrinket



Series: Never Let Us Go [5]
Category: British Actor RPF, Tom Hiddleston - Fandom
Genre: Broken Heart, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, New Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-19
Updated: 2015-04-19
Packaged: 2018-03-24 19:10:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,682
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3781117
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/trickytrinket/pseuds/trickytrinket
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Elli Lane always consider Tom Hiddleston as her best friend, and vice versa. But she had her own battle inside her heart, one that could not be ignored easily. And this time she was forced to confront those feelings.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Broken

**Author's Note:**

> Another day in a life with Elli and Tom, not long after the previous oneshot We're Each Other Conscience. You might want to listen to Broken by The Lifehouse as that song inspired me to write this oneshot. Enjoy your reading!

It hurts. It’s too painful and suffocating, like the air just being punched out of her lungs. Or maybe just like those scene in movie where someone was being stabbed over and over again. Elli should have known better. She should have said no to him, should have made up a reason that would prevent her for going with Tom. But alas, rejecting him has always been such a difficult task for her to do. And this time it was no different either. As soon as she saw his face across her phone screen, she picked up the call on first ring.

"Tom. I don't know you are in town,” Elli tried to sound indifferent.

"I told you two days ago, Ells,” Tom was chuckling, “It’s so unlike you to be so forgetful."

Always trust Tom to read her like an open book. Elli sighed, rubbing her upper arm whilst circling her dining table in the middle of her flat, "Ahh. It might have slipped my mind. Michael will be doing press junket for First Class so I’m leaving London this weekend."

"How about dinner with me tonight?"

_Was Tom having a hallucination or something, asking her for dinner out of nowhere?_

Elli stopped pacing around her flat. Her phone almost slipped from her grip, "Dinner?"

Hearing her shock, Tom quickly cleared his throat, "Yes, dinner. Fish and chips. I believe it’s still your favourite."

And now he was bribing her, "Thomas." Elli warned him. Urging him to spill the truth as this whole dinner thing grew more suspicious by every minute.

Tom finally confessed his true intention to Elli, "Alright. I need your help."

Elli slapped her forehead, "What is it, Tom?"

"Carla is having her birthday soon," Tom told her, he sounded so giddy.

"And of course you need me to help you find a gift for her,” Elli pulled out her own conclusion.

"Bingo!" Tom exclaimed followed with his hearty laugh.

"Do you already have something inside your mind?"

Tom’s answer was a quick one, "A watch.”

"A watch?" Elli almost snapped back at him as the idea sounded a little ridiculous to her ears.

"Well, Carla has that one watch she wears on daily basis. But last week she dropped it and I have to say she has to throw that watch away."

Elli sighed, rubbing her temple, "So, where are you going to buy this new watch?"

"Oxford Street,” Tom finally announced their destination.

Elli nodded her head absentmindedly. Considering her hectic day with Michael yesterday, Elli decided to freshen up a bit before heading to meet Tom in the middle of the Oxford Street. Fortunately it didn’t take long for Tom to find the watch he wanted to give to Carla. For Elli, it was a big relief considering Tom and his overly-active brain.

All was well until that moment after Tom asked the saleswoman to put the rose-gold Burberry watch into a gift box. The saleswoman eyed Tom then she glanced at Elli who was staring at the bustling Oxford Street. However, soon enough Elli felt the questioning look that saleswoman has been giving her for the past minutes. Elli arched her eyebrow at the saleswoman, allowing the saleswoman to ask her.

“I didn’t mean to pry, ma’am. But why don’t you wear this watch?”

As if being dumped by a bucket of cold water, Elli stuttered, “Wha … What?”

“Aren’t you his girlfriend?” Judging by her tone, Elli realised this woman had no idea of the identity of the man who was buying that watch.

Elli denied the saleswoman’s assumption, "Oh no. I’m his best friend.”

To Elli’s surprise, Tom draped his long arm over her shoulder and pulled her closer to his body, “Yep. My very first best friend. My oldest friend!" He announced proudly.

And yet that word felt like a stab to her chest, but she chose to put on her mask instead, showing her best fake genuine smile. Suffice to say, the rest of her outing with Tom didn’t feel as fun as it used to be. That’s if she didn’t want to use the word awkward to describe their situation now. It was mostly Tom who did the talking, and Elli answered his questions with no more than five words while still faking a smile. Even she didn’t have the stomach to finish her fish and chips. That night the savory meal tasted stale in her tongue.

***

Best friend. Yes I'm the best friend. I’m his best friend therefore I should not be feeling this. Anger. Jealousy. Insecurity. She shouldn’t be dealing with this emotion, especially not when it came to Thomas. It wasn’t right but there’s only so much Elli could do to repress her feelings. There’re times when those emotions inside of her wanting to claw out from that deep and dark corner of her heart. And this time she could no longer run away from those emotions as she stared at the half-empty bottle of liquor she randomly snatched from Michael’s stash.

She wanted to laugh at her own impulsiveness, for being so naïve, for having no second thought every time Tom came to the picture.

Elli heard the flat’s door clicked open followed with a deep Irish accent reverberating inside the flat, "Jesus, Elli!” Michael set aside those takeaway food boxes on his dining table, “I thought you’re going on another dinner with Adrian.”

Ah yes, sweet loving Adrian. They were not yet together. And Elli was no fool either, she knew Adrian was quite smitten with her but could she reciprocate his feeling when sometimes she was having another trouble dealing with her own feeling towards her best friend. That’s certainly was the one-million dollar question.

"Just got back from dinner with Tom,” and now her voice sounded shaky.

“You didn’t mention that man is in town.”

“Why do you care, Michael?” Elli spat back at her boss.

Michael just shrugged off her comment. Instead, he took a can of beer and popped it open. Lounging on his brown couch, Michael chugged down his beer in one go. But nothing will prepare him for what happened next as Elli approached him slowly, swaying her hip in a seductive manner. Her fingers working to unbutton her cream blouse, revealing the red bra underneath it. Before Michael could ask or do anything to stop her, Elli was already straddling his lap, grinding herself against his crotch. Her lips ghosted over to that area under his ear, then hovering above his lips.

“Elli,” Michael growled. He clenched his hands on her waist, pushing her aside. But Elli put up a fight as she dipped down her head, trying to land a kiss on Michael’s lips. And Michael sniffed out that unmistakable smell of alcohol in her breath. Swiftly he pulled away before her lips made contact with his. He wasn’t someone who would like to take an advantage over this drunken woman, even when that woman was the one who initiated the entire commotion.

“How much have you drunk?”

This time it was Elli’s turn to dismiss his question.

“Now, it’s either you talk or cry.”

“I can do talking while crying,” Elli sobbed, followed by a low laughter.

“Or maybe you can drink some more. That way you’d probably so wasted by tomorrow and you can do that trans-Atlantic flight you dreaded the most in peace,” Michael winked at her as he reminded Elli how she hates those long-haul flights across Atlantic.

“That means I need to rearrange the ticket,” Elli paused for a minute, then took a deep breath, “I think I might have a feeling for Tom, Michael.”

“There’s no need to use might in that sentence,” Michael shook his head in disapproval.

“I feel like an idiot. I was the one who encouraged him to pursue Carla at the first place, now look at me. Regretting my decision every now and then. And what makes me feel worse is I want to be in this relationship with Adrian but I feel I might hurt him in the end if deep down I still have this feeling for Tom,” More tears trickled down on her cheek. Her chest was heaving as she felt the emotion building up inside her chest. Elli was losing all of her inhibition as the alcohol took control over her system.

“But Adrian is a good guy, Elli.”

“Und ich genieße seine Gesellschaft so sehr, Michael(And I enjoy his company so much, Michael). Seriously, I am turning into a bad guy. Having Magneto and Loki as my friend turned me into a villain as well,” Elli spoke with two different languages in one go before producing a very unlady-like snort.

Michael shifted on his seat. He was facing Elli now, “Now close your eyes. Take a deep breath. And tell me the first thing that comes across your mind. That’ll be the thing that you have to do next,” Michael ordered Elli.

Elli gave him an incredulous look but she did as he told her to. Her eyebrows furrowed as she sounded her first thought to Michael, “Give Adrian a call.”

“It’s not hard, isn’t it? Give him a call then tell him you’re willing to start this relationship with him. Stop pushing him away,” Michael slapped her shoulder, trying to cheer up his personal assistant. Then he stood up, marching to his bedroom to fetch a spare blanket and an empty bucket for Elli.

“Here,” he put the blanket on her lap, “Have some sleep first. I have a strong feeling you’re gonna start singing in Germany soon. And I want to save my eardrums before it happened,” Michael put the empty bucket near the couch leg, “Don’t forget the bucket is near your head. All you have to is tilt your head a bit and throw up. Night, Elli.”

Elli tried to throw another comment at Michael but she was slowly losing her consciousness. Her words came forming an incoherence mumbles. The last word Michael heard before having his cold dinner was his assistant thanking him, “Danke, Michael.”


End file.
